Many years ago – goodness, it must be twelve years or so – Younger Daughter asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I said I wanted an apron. She used her burgeoning sewing skills (she was about 12 years old at the time) to make me an apron out of a thrift-store kitchen curtain.
Oh my goodness, I loved that apron. I have used it multiple times a day, every day, for twelve or more years. In fact, I used it so much it was hard to find the time to wash it, simply because it was always in use and I didn't have a backup.
The result so many years later? One very worn apron. I guess 12 years was a lot to ask from a thin piece of cotton.
But it wasn't until this Very Big Hole developed that I realized yes, my beloved apron was beyond redemption.
So the search was on for a replacement.
Some of our dear neighbors at our last home had spent many years living in Japan (civilian-military), and the wife had a style of apron popular in Japan called a cross-back apron. I decided that was the style I wanted too.
Searching Etsy for something along these lines, I came across an Etsy Store called Stitched by Beverly. I confess her cross-back apron caught my eye for no other reason than I adored the color.
So I bit the bullet and ordered.
After a few weeks of happy anticipation, the apron arrived. It was just as beautiful in real life as the Etsy photos. Beverly is a talented seamstress.
Comically, however, I could not figure out how to put it on. It's very counter-intuitive. I even resorted to watching YouTube tutorials to learn the trick, to no avail. Our old neighbor used to slip her apron on with two graceful movements of her arms, but try as I might, I couldn't figure it out. (I'm not very bright at these things.)
However eventually I got the hang of it, and oh my I love this new apron. It covers my whole front, even better than my old apron does.
So this is my official requiem for my beloved old apron, and a welcome to the new.
I promise, however, to take better care of this new apron. In fact, even as I type this, it's in the washing machine. I don't want to wear a hole in it from sheer ground-in dirt as I did my old one.